(JNS.org) A large
percentage of Israelis and Palestinians view peace efforts by U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry with skepticism, says a new poll conducted by Harry S. Truman Institute
at Hebrew University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

Secretary of State John Kerry. Credit: State Department.

The poll also revealed that while 57 percent
of the Israeli respondents supported mutual recognition of Israeli and
Palestinian national identity in a final status agreement and 37 percent opposed
that step, only 42 percent of Palestinians supported mutual recognition and 56
percent were against it.

According to the poll, only 27 percent of Palestinians
and 10 percent of the Israelis think the two sides “will return to negotiations
and violence will stop,” while 34 percent of Israelis and 31 percent of
Palestinians “believe that negotiations will resume but some armed attacks will
continue as well.”

Forty-four percent of Israelis and 15 percent
of Palestinians think that the two sides will not return to negotiations and that
“armed attacks will not stop.” A strong majority of both Israelis (68 percent)
and Palestinians (69 percent) do not think there will be a Palestinian state
within five years.

Since taking office in February, Kerry has made
five visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories in a bid to restart peace
talks. After concluding his most recent trip on Sunday, Kerry expressed
disappointment in the conduct of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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